Ontario grants

Geothermal grants — how they work

Take advantage of Government of Canada grants for
new geothermal heat pumps:

Canada ecoENERGY —
Homeowners can get up to
$4,375
in grants from the Canadian government for a new geothermal heat pump.
The Government of Canada
grants up to $5,000 for home energy renovations
through the ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program,
which is in effect until March 31, 2012.
Click here for more

LiveSmart BC rebates —
BC homeowners can get
LiveSmart BC geothermal rebates
of up to $2,500 – for a new geothermal heat pump.
The Government of British Columbia grants up to
$7,000 and more for home energy renovations
through the LiveSmart BC rebate program,
which is in effect until March 31, 2013.
Click here for more

Home Energy Audits —
To qualify for Government of Canada ecoENERGY
grants, or LiveSmart BC geothermal rebates,
homeowners must get a home energy audit
before and after
their new geothermal heat pump installation.
Get up to $150 cash back on the cost of your first
energy audit with a rebate from
Ontario’s Home Energy Audit program.
In British Columbia, the LiveSmart BC program also
subsidizes the cost of your first home energy audit.
Click here for more

Home Renovation Tax Credit —
Many Canadians use “tax credit”
to describe grant programs like Canada ecoENERGY grants
and LiveSmart BC rebates.
The original Home Renovation Tax Credit
(HRTC) expired in 2010.
With today’s 2011 “tax credit” programs
there’s no need to wait until you’ve filed
your annual income tax return to receive a home renovation tax credit.
Your tax-free grant money will be sent within 90 days of
your follow-up energy audit.
Click here for more

Government grants — conditions

Some conditions apply.

Home energy audit —
To qualify for Canada ecoENERGY grants
and LiveSmart BC rebates
you must get an ecoENERGY home energy assessment
before and after your upgrades.
You will receive grants for improvements started
after your first audit.

Renovations —
You can complete the improvements yourself or hire
a contractor. We recommend you retain copies of
all documentation including invoices,
receipts, photos and product literature to be sure you get
full credit for all improvements.

Canada ecoENERGY —
You need to apply for Canada ecoENERGY grants
by completing your follow-up
(post-retrofit) audit by March 31, 2012.
Use the opportunity to complete as many upgrades as possible.

LiveSmart BC —
You need to apply for LiveSmart BC rebates
by completing your follow-up
(post-retrofit) audit within 18 months of
your first audit, or by March 31, 2013, whichever comes first.

Combined grants —
If you want to take advantage of combined Canada ecoENERGY
grants and LiveSmart BC rebates, we recommend that you complete
all upgrade work and have your follow-up
(post-retrofit) audit completed before the Canada
ecoENERGY
deadline of March 31, 2012.

Existing homes only —
Newly built homes occupied for less than six months
do not qualify for Government of Canada ecoENERGY
grants. Once a newly
built home has been occupied for more than six months, there is no limit to
how old a home can be to qualify for Canada ecoENERGY
rebates.

Local codes & by-laws —
All improvements or renovations
must meet provincial building codes and by-laws.
Pay special attention to the placement of vapour
barriers when adding insulation to the building envelope.
Before undertaking improvements
or renovations, find out about the appropriate
products and installation techniques to ensure that your home’s
building envelope and indoor air quality
will not be compromised.

Higher efficiency —
To qualify for Canada ecoENERGY grants and
LiveSmart BC rebates, any new equipment installed in your home
must have a higher efficiency than that of the original
equipment it replaces.

Questions about eligibility —
If you are not certain about the eligibility of your house,
or any specific renovations you are planning, you should
request clarification from the the Governments of Canada
and BC.
Homeowners are responsible for clarifying that their house
and planned improvements are eligible for
Canada ecoENERGY grants and LiveSmart BC rebates
before undertaking any upgrade work and related expenses.

You begin —
by completing an ecoENERGY assessment with a certified
energy advisor. The Ontario government provides a rebate of up to $150
of the cost of your first energy audit.

Your advisor —
will apply for Canada ecoENERGY
grants on your behalf, after you have
completed your energy-efficient renovations
and your Ontario home has been re-assessed. You have until
March 31, 2012 to make some or all of the
improvements your advisor recommends for your Ontario home, and
complete a second audit.

Other BC rebates —
Vancouver homeowners may qualify for a
$3,000 rebate from the City of Vancouver Solar Homes Pilot
when installing
solar
hot water systems. There are additional
rebates for low-flow
toilets, and even
more grants, rebates and incentives from local
governments and energy utilities.

You begin —
by completing an ecoENERGY assessment with a certified
energy advisor. The BC government subsidizes the cost of
your first home energy audit.

Your advisor —
will apply for LiveSmart BC rebates
on your behalf, after you have completed your
energy-efficient renovations
and your BC home has been re-assessed. You have
to make some or all of the improvements your advisor
recommends for your BC home, and
complete a follow-up (post-retrofit) energy
audit within 18 months of your initial energy audit or
before March 31, 2013, whichever comes first.

Home Renovation Tax Credit

Many Canadians use “tax credit” to describe
government grant programs like Government of Canada
ecoENERGY grants and LiveSmart BC rebates.
The original Home Renovation Tax Credit
(HRTC)
expired in 2010.

2009 income tax credit —
The original
Home Renovation Tax Credit allowed families to claim a credit
of 15 per cent of home improvement costs, between
$1,000 and $10,000, on their 2009 income tax return.
Each Canadian family could claim up to $10,000
in home improvement costs, for a credit of up to
$1,350 per family.

2011 ‘tax credit’ programs —
Newer programs can provide combined government grants of up to
$7,000 and more. And there’s no need to wait until
you’ve filed your annual income tax return to receive a
home renovation tax credit. Your tax-free grant
money will be sent within 90 days of your
follow-up energy audit.

Your advisor can help

By choosing a HomePerformance
Energy Advisor to do your home energy audit,
you’ll receive information on government
home energy renovation grants and rebates, and other
energy improvement incentives available in your area.

Enjoy all the benefits

Do it right

Each Canadian home has its own specific
energy-savings needs,
and yours is no different. The right renovations
add up to big savings. By following the expert
advice of a Canada-certified energy advisor,
you’ll make the energy renovations
or "retrofits" that are right for your home —
and help improve your energy costs and the Canadian environment.

Energy renovations help ...

Save energy —
Your home won’t need as much energy to stay comfortable.

Save money —
Less energy used = lower energy costs for you.

Grants + Rebates —
Qualify for tax-free government grants for
home energy renovation, sent directly to you.

And that’s not all.
Here are more benefits ...

Greater comfort –
Your home will be warmer in Canadian winters,
cooler in Canadian summers.

And there’s even more. Click here to learn how
Canadian
homeowners like you are saving thousands of
dollars and tonnes of greenhouse gases every year,
by making the right energy-saving home renovations.
Canadians can make a difference.

*BC homeowners can qualify for more than $7,000
in tax-free
renovation rebates from the Government of BC.*Ontario homeowners can qualify for up to
$5,000 in tax-free ecoENERGY
Retrofit Homes grants from the Government of Canada.*This website displays government grant and renovation “tax credit”
information for your convenience only.*We accept no liability whatsoever
for any incomplete or inaccurate grant information displayed in these webpages.*For complete information on government grants
and home energy audit rebates go to
ecoaction.gc.ca,
homeenergyontario.ca,
livesmartbc.ca,
actionplan.gc.ca/homes.
Grant amounts may be revised at the discretion of
the Governments of
Canada, Ontario and British Columbia.
**ecoENERGY Initiatives help Canadians
use energy more efficiently,
boost renewable energy supplies and develop cleaner-energy technologies.
**ecoENERGY Retrofit Homes residential energy efficiency assessment program
was developed by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).
**ecoENERGY and Energuide for Houses are official
trademarks of the Government of Canada.
Used under licence.